Love, Actually
by Cascading Rainbows
Summary: The plan was simple: make him fall in love with her, and have him reveal his branch's secrets. The catch: don't fall in love with him. Oops.
1. Prologue

_**Title: **__Love, Actually_

_**Summary: **__The plan was simple: make him fall in love with her, having him reveal his branch's secrets. The catch: don't fall in love with him. Oops._

_**Genre: **__Friendship, Romance_

_**Rating: **__T for later chapters. For now, it's strictly K, but just in case, you know._

_**Warnings/Spoilers: **__None. It's a future-fic. _

_**Characters/Pairing: **__Dan/Reagan . . . not yet, though. :D_

**_Song: _**_Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People. I don't know . . . you can listen to it while reading, if you want. The purpose of the songs will be disclosed later. _

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><p><strong>Love, Actually<br>****Chapter 1**

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><p>"<em>You've got to stay ahead of the game to be able to stay in it."<br>–Kate Moss_

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><p>Reagan Holt was more annoyed than she had been in her entire life.<p>

"What do you _mean_ I can't become the head of the Tomas branch?" she cried, slamming her hands down on her desk, causing it to shake violently. "I'm _ten _times more qualified than Hamilton. _Ten times!_"

Eisenhower Holt, with one hand resting on the desk, pounded his fist down onto the table. He matched her murderous glare with his own. "Hamilton is much older than you, and he is—"

"Oh my goodness!" she shouted, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You're sexist! You're not giving me a chance because Hamilton is your favorite child! Because he's a boy! Gah! You infuriate me!"

"Don't you _dare_ shout at me, young lady!" Eisenhower yelled back, standing up to his full six-foot, four-inch stature. He was clad in his unflattering purple tracksuit, and Reagan thought that there was absolutely no way a man could be intimidating in something as atrocious as that. Inwardly, she laughed at the ridiculousness of his ensemble. She leaned back in her revolving chair and stared at her bedroom ceiling, attempting to tune out her father's loud ranting. "Maybe I picked Hamilton because _he_ doesn't _yell_ at everything I _say_!"

It was a typical day in the life of a Holt.

"But _Hamilton_ is an annoying wimp who wouldn't last a _day_ as head of the Tomas branch! You should nominate me, not him! Isn't that why we hold nominations, to get rid of leaders that we hate, like Ivan?" she argued.

Hamilton poked his head inside of her room, his sweatband wrapped around his forehead. His gray muscle shirt was soaked with sweat. "I heard my name." He glanced at Reagan warily. "She probably degraded me in some way, right?"

"_Don't_ come near me," she said, wrinkling her nose at his damp shirt.

"I wasn't planning to," he shot back.

Reagan rolled her eyes. She wasn't usually like this, being such a brat by calling Hamilton a wimp and yelling at her dad. That was usually Madison's job. But she wanted to become the head of the Tomas branch so badly. The power and the honor . . . it was too big of a deal to resist.

Eisenhower quickly explained what was going on, and Hamilton's lips tugged at a smile. "You want to become leader and have Dad nominate you, right? Then you have to prove yourself," he said, easing into the room to stand next to Eisenhower. "Like me."

Reagan laughed for a good ten seconds, then went back to being serious. "What have _you_ ever done to prove yourself?" she sneered.

"What have _you_?" he shot back. "And I don't think twirling around in a tutu counts." He raised his arms to form an oval and stood up on his toes. Mockingly, he spun in a circle. "Oh, look here! I'm _Reagan_, and I'm a pretty ballerina! Lalalalala . . ."

Reagan balled her fists, trembling with fury. But before she could swing on Hamilton, Eisenhower spoke up. "Son, that's not a bad idea. Actually, that's a great idea." Hamilton exhaled, wondering how his insult could have possibly worked for the benefit of his sister. "Reagan, you should prove yourself. Show that you're worthy of becoming head. You're twenty-two, and it's a great time to prove yourself. Me, who wants me to be head? The prime of my life is over. I'm almost a senior now."

"Almost?" Hamilton muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Eisenhower shot him a glare. "You, be quiet." Hamilton grinned sheepishly, but remained silent.

"And I know _my _chances are slim, so why waste my vote on myself, when I could vote for one of my children?" Eisenhower continued. "Originally, I was sure I was going to vote for Hamilton." Hamilton grinned. "But now, since Reagan is so willing to prove herself, I guess I have to wait and see."

"So, what's your proposition?" Reagan asked, slowly sitting down.

Eisenhower let out a sigh and rubbed his callused hands on the smooth wood of the table. He considered her question thoughtfully. "I'm saying…get the most stupid, untalented man you can find on the Madrigals' team. Get him to fall in love with you. If he likes you enough, he'll be blind enough to spill all of the Madrigal secrets. Learn everything. Then break up with him and come back here. If I'm impressed, I'll nominate you."

"The most stupid, untalented man I can find in the Madrigals?"

"Yup."

"You mean Dan Cahill."

"Exactly."

Reagan almost gagged. "Get that . . . ninja lord idiot to fall in love with _me_?" She shuddered. "Goodness, I'll give him nunchucks as a birthday present, and he'll be ready to marry me."

"So, you'll do it?" Eisenhower asked, raising an eyebrow. He stood up straighter. "You don't want to think about it any longer? Holts never back down from missions once they accept."

"Of course I'm doing it. This is the easiest assignment ever," Reagan scoffed.

Hamilton looked like he was about to protest. He lurched forward, poised to argue, but Eisenhower gave him a warning glance. Hamilton exhaled, and, with his teeth clenched, he leaned back.

She knew exactly why he was so angry, and she taunted, "Dan _is_ the most stupid Madrigal out there. He's a complete reta—"

"You _shut your mouth_!" Hamilton roared, advancing on her. "You—you have no right to be saying that about him! He's my _friend_!"

Reagan could've gone on about how Hamilton had set his standards for friendship way too low and gotten a reprimanding from Eisenhower, but she didn't. She wasn't _that_ mean. So she just sat there, smiling sweetly while Hamilton seethed.

"He's going to UCLA, all right?" Eisenhower continued. "And you're going there, too, oddly enough. I want you to obtain all the information by the end of the semester. And if you don't have enough information, I am not going to nominate you. The nomination will go directly to Hamilton. Am I clear?"

Reagan smiled. "As clear as you'll ever be."

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><p><em>Ah, I'm so excited for this one! I've been working on it forever, a little less than half a year, I think. :D <em>

_Sy pointed out that, in The Black Book of Buried Secrets, people can nominate themselves. However, Eisenhower has made it a point to only let worthy people in his household to get nominated. This will become clearer in the second chapter. Oh, and for those thinking "Where's Madison?", She's going to a different college and left earlier, but she will appear from time to time, like Hamilton. _

_Thanks so much to __**Sun Daughter, aka Summer**__ and __**Syberian Quest, aka Sy,**__ for betaing this for me. You guys rock! :D Oh, and I believe __**Jamie's Dream, aka Jamie**__, looked over this for me as well. ;D_

_Reviews are loved, as always. Praise is appreciated, constructive criticism is welcome, and flames are accepted._

_Thanks for reading!_

_~Cascading Rainbows_


	2. Chapter 1: First Encounters

**Title: **Love, Actually: Chapter 1—First Encounters  
><strong>Genre: <strong>Romance, Friendship  
><strong>Rating: <strong>K, for now  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Reagan, Hamilton, Eisenhower, Dan, a few OCs, and a small cameo from Amy.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>In which Reagan goes to her dorm, Hamilton has a vital piece of information, Eisenhower is overly dramatic, and Dan looks like a certain teenage pop sensation that never hit puberty.

**Song of the Chapter: **Good Life – One Republic

**My Lovely Reviewers: **Another Artist, therockinCookie, Volcanic Lily, {no name}, Ballet Reader, Jamie's Dream, IJustCan'tChoose, KTRose12, Evanescence456, rainingtearsofchocolate, ABetterNinjaThanDanCahill, Wisdom is All, Sun Daughter, Pumpkin Caramel Latte, and Giraffes4Ever. :D I love you guys.

**Author's Note: **Well, it's been over two months. Meh. :P This took a while, as it turned out to be quite difficult to fit in into my school schedule. Anyway, it's here!

Please, please review. I really need the constructive criticism, and if I get more reviews, it tells me that more people like this story, so I update it faster. So yeah. :)

By the way, I did A LOT of research for this story. I researched what the dorms look like, the names of the dorms, every single bit. I went on virtual tours. I watched YouTube videos. I read UCLA information sites. But if I get anything wrong, don't hesitate to tell me so that I can fix it.

Hope you enjoy it. :D

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><p><strong>Love, Actually<strong>

_Chapter 1: First Encounters_

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><p>"<em>You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."<br>-Albert Einstein_

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><p>"How are you even sure that this is going to work?"<p>

"Of course it will work, Hammer," Eisenhower chuckled. He slung an arm around his less-than-thrilled son. "They're going to the same college, for Pete's sake. And I'll bet you that that Dan doesn't have a girlfriend yet."

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and Hamilton snorted. "Mmhmm."

Eisenhower raised an eyebrow. "Anything you got to say, son?"

Hamilton stared at him for a second, his eyes watery from tears of suppressed laughter. "Mm-mm," he said, vigorously shaking his head. Eisenhower looked at him for a long while, but didn't press the issue any further.

"Reagan, you're going to do fine in college. But don't forget to trick that Dan boy, all right? Or else you won't get that nomination, and it'll go to Hamilton. And I'm sure you won't be happy about that—"

"_Eisenhower_," Mary-Todd scolded him.

"Eh? All right, all right." He held up his hands in a sign of defeat. "I won't give her any more pressure." He turned to Madison. "Same goes for you. Except about the Dan thing."

Madison snorted. "Uh-huh."

Eisenhower cleared his throat. "Hey, want me to carry the bags up to your dorm? Anything else I can do?"

Reagan shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I can take these up myself."

Madison punched her, whispering, "_No. _Let Dad take the luggage. I'm tired." Reagan rolled her eyes.

"No, it's fine, Dad," she repeated, but upon seeing Eisenhower's wistful expression, she relented. "Oh, fine."

"Great!" Eisenhower grinned, his demeanor considerably brighter. "I'll go get the luggage. You and Hamilton can go find Amy and Dan or just stay here. I'll come and get you guys after I bring everything in."

"We'll go find them," Reagan quickly decided. Hamilton nodded in agreement.

"All right, then," Eisenhower sighed. "I'll be here, just my lonely self, getting the luggage without any help, since your mother and you guys obviously don't want to help me." He sighed again, more dramatically this time. "Oh, what a world I live in."

He looked up to see their reaction, but they had already left.

::

"Hey, Reagan! Hey, Hamilton! Hey, Madison!" Amy trilled, practically bursting with excitement. "How are you guys doing?"

Amy looked mostly the same, though she had gotten about two inches taller, a few inches shorter than Hamilton. She was wearing shorts with an Abercrombie t-shirt, and her auburn hair was pulled back into a slick ponytail. Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses were perched on the top of her head. Amy didn't look like a designer sunglasses kind of girl, but with all the money she still had left over from winning the Clue Hunt, buying some pricey items was understandable. She looked like an average college girl, minus the heavy textbooks.

Reagan glanced at Hamilton, who was nearly drooling, his eyes wide and his body hunched over. "Good, how about you?" she responded politely when she realized that she was probably going to have to do most of the talking. Madison mumbled a hello as well.

"Oh, hey, Ames," Hamilton chimed in, his cheeks turning red. He cleared his throat and seemed to regain his composure. "Looks like you've been having a good time."

"Yeah, it's been _great_." Amy beamed. "I've been spending a lot of quality time with Dan and stuff, hanging out, relaxing."

"Good, good," he laughed.

Dan trailed behind her, halfway obscured by her body. Reagan noticed that he had hit some weird male hormonal growth spurt, making him a full head taller than her. His hair was cut in a manner suspiciously similar to Justin Bieber's, and Reagan wrinkled her nose.

_Gross_.

Then she remembered that she was supposed to pretend that she was falling in love with him.

"Hey, Dan," she brightly greeted him. Dan nodded back with a downward chin jerk.

Amy whispered something into Dan's ear, probably to reprimand him, and Dan just looked at her. Amy tilted her head toward Reagan urgently, and he sighed. "Hey, Reagan," he replied in the most monotonous voice anyone could possibly muster. Reagan raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged. "Oh, and hey Madison."

Madison snorted. "Hey, Dan," she sneered.

Hamilton laughed awkwardly. "What's up, Dan?" Dan managed a smile, and Hamilton thrust out his beefy knuckles. Dan tapped them with his own considerably smaller knuckles. Hamilton turned to Reagan and Dan. "You two go . . . somewhere. I'm going to catch up with Ames." He nodded almost imperceptibly at Reagan, who did the same.

"'Kay," Reagan agreed, feigning enthusiasm. Hamilton smiled.

"What about me?" Madison complained, furrowing her brow.

Hamilton shrugged. "Stay here and be quiet." Madison cursed loudly and called Hamilton a dirty name, but reluctantly stayed with her mouth shut.

Dan cast a look at his older sister, who smiled back angelically. "Go have fun!" Amy said. Snorting, he strolled towards a large oak tree, and Reagan followed him.

Dan rolled his eyes, leaning against the trunk of the tree. "I'm sorry about Amy. She tends to become a little . . . overenthusiastic whenever a Cahill interacts with me, mainly because she wants me to become friends with every single branch."

"I'm sorry about Hamilton," Reagan returned. "He can be a little . . . odd."

"Like I didn't know that," Dan retorted, but gave Reagan a lopsided grin. Reagan laughed for five seconds before the chuckles began to peter out.

The silence hung in the air like wet clothes drying on a clothesline in the sunshine.

It was like one of those conversations where you were meeting a friend for the first time in a long while. The conversation was slowly moving out of the "hey-how's-it-going" phase, and it was getting awkward. Really awkward.

Their talk was probably going to turn to weather next. And Reagan definitely did not want to talk about weather.

She tried to say something back—a compliment, maybe—but nothing was coming out. A throaty grunt escaped from her lips, a sound that most would relate to a pig, and she wanted to die.

"Okay," Dan said, helpfully trying to move the conversation along. It wasn't working.

"Sowhatareyoumajoringin?" The question came out all in a rush.

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Reagan took a deep breath and tried to look him straight in the eye, but it proved futile. She settled with pretending to be incredibly interested in her fiddling thumbs. "What are you majoring in?"

"Oh. Business," he responded, nodding. Reagan bobbed her head back.

The uncomfortable silence crept back into the conversation.

She felt her cheeks grow warmer. If she wanted to receive a nomination, she had to do better than this! So Reagan cleared her throat and continued in a considerably warmer tone, "Oh, that's awesome! I'm majoring in Biology," even though she didn't think that it was awesome, and she wondered how Dan even made it to college, much less UCLA.

"Cool," Dan returned. He ran his hand through his dusty blonde hair, not knowing how to respond another way. There was a moment of awkward silence, and then he finally said, "I'll be going now."

"Of course," Reagan blurted out. "That's great. Um, see you later!" She gave him a quick smile and dashed back to her brother.

Dan stared at the rapidly diminishing figure of Reagan. "All right," he muttered, slightly bemused, and he went on his way.

::

"How did it go, sis?" Hamilton asked as Reagan ran back. She noticed that Madison and Amy were conversing, and Hamilton's cheeks stained red. _What a wimp_, she thought, but turned back to the matter at hand.

She looked up at him miserably. "Let's just say that he's probably worried about my sanity now."

Hamilton laughed, but quickly turned it into a whooping cough. "Don't worry, sis. He may still think you're okay, deep, deep down. Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep—"

Reagan punched him in the stomach. And ended up crushing her hand.

Searing hot pain shot through her arm, and she glared at him. Hamilton only laughed. "I play football, sis. Deal with my rock-hard abs."

"What abs?"

He rolled his eyes.

"But what do I do?" She looked at him with pleading eyes. "And don't just give me horrible advice to sabotage me in the nominations."

"I won't." Hamilton nodded. "I think it'll be very amusing, watching you try to flirt with my best buddy."

It suddenly occurred to her that she would have to do exactly that.

"Gross! Gross gross gross gross gross!" she whined, contorting her face to one of disgust. Reagan wrinkled her nose. "Help me, Hamilton."

"Ah, I will," Hamilton grinned.

Just then, Eisenhower arrived with the luggage, Mary-Todd trailing behind him. "Eh, Reagan, where's your dorm again?"

"Hedrick Hall, floor 4, room 408," Reagan supplied, remembering from her email.

"And Madison?" Mary-Todd inquired.

"Sproul Hall, floor 2, room 218," Madison supplied.

"You have everything, right?" Eisenhower confirmed, looking forlornly at his daughters and the luggage surrounding them.

Reagan scanned her belongings. One duffel bag resting on top of a rolling suitcase, another duffel bag on top of another suitcase. "Yup," she confirmed at the same time her twin said, "Yeah." She looked up, only to see her father's eyes slightly shining. "Aw, man, _Dad_." She smiled waveringly and gave him a hug with her sister. The pair turned to her mother, who was on the verge of hysterics, and embraced her as well.

They turned to look at Hamilton.

The reality dawned on him, and he widened his eyes in horror. "No, Reagan, Madison, you know I don't do—"

Reagan and Madison pounced on him and hung tight.

"—_hugs_," he muttered, awkwardly patting them on the back twice before shaking them off of him. They looked at each other and smiled. "Let's get on with it," he muttered, grabbing some of the luggage, Eisenhower grabbing the rest.

"You know we love you," Reagan grinned.

"Whatever."

::

"Here," Reagan announced when they reached the door to her dorm. They had decided to go to hers first, since the building was closer. Reagan opened it with her key, and it swung open, revealing a bunk bed, a loft bed, two closets, some drawers, and three desks, among other things. Two of the desks were on one end of the room, and the third was under the loft bed. "Wow," she said in awe. "It's really awesome." Madison nodded in agreement.

Hamilton appraised the room carefully. After looking at every single nook and cranny of the dorm, he muttered, "It's a'ight."

"It's fantastic," Reagan shot back, grinning. "Better claim the loft bed before anyone else does." She grabbed her duffel bags and threw them on her bed. She walked around the dorm slowly. "It's small, but it's comfy. I can deal."

There were a few moments of silence before Eisenhower coughed. "Well, we have to go to Sproul, then I have to get back to Milwaukee and Hammer's going back to Notre Dame. Take care, all right?" He gave her an awkward group hug with Mary-Todd and Madison, and Hamilton just stood there, nodding.

Reagan rolled her eyes. "I'll miss you too, Hamilton."

"Aw, shut up."

Eisenhower closed the door behind him when he, Mary-Todd, and Hamilton exited, and Reagan sighed, letting out a shaky breath. No. She wouldn't cry. She willed herself to hold back the tears, but they fell down anyway. "Oh, goodness, Reagan, you're such a sissy," she said aloud, chuckling despite herself.

The tears ceased, and she let out a single laugh. There were things to be unpacked. Letting out a deep breath, she took down the first duffel bag and carried it over to the nearest closet, beginning to hanging up each article of clothing, one by one.

The door opened a crack, and Reagan turned to see a girl struggling to get in with both of her hands full. Reagan rose and went over to open the door for her.

The girl sighed with relief and threw her things down on the floor. "Hi," Reagan greeted tentatively. "I'm Reagan."

"I'm Danielle Adkins," she grinned, showing her dimples. Her shiny, brown hair and hazel eyes instantly made Reagan jealous. "Nice to meet you." She walked around the room approvingly. "I can take the top bunk, right?"

"It's all yours."

"Cool," she grinned, and began unpacking.

Not long after, the final girl of their dorm strolled in. Her tired-looking father, holding all of her luggage, trailed behind her. With a relieved sigh, he dropped her suitcases to the floor. "Bye, Dad," the girl whispered, and they exchanged hugs before her dad left.

She took one glance at the room, nodding approvingly. "I'm Kelsey Park," she informed them. She wrinkled her nose and rubbed something on her cheek. "Goodness, I hate pimples," she muttered, but Reagan could only see flawless, pale skin.

"I guess you're getting the bottom bunk," Danielle chimed in, smirking. "If that's all right."

Kelsey shrugged noncommittally. "I don't care," she snorted, and unzipped the first of her five suitcases.

Suddenly, Reagan's iPhone started to ring loudly, startling everyone in the dorm. "Can you take that outside?" Kelsey asked. "I get really annoyed when people talk on the phone loudly."

Reagan peered down at the caller ID. _Hammer_, it read. "It's kind of personal, anyway, so yeah." She went outside and closed the door behind her.

"Hello?"

"Reagan?"

"Yeah?"

"Dad said that I had to talk to you before we get to the airport so that I can get to USC. Apparently I need to give you . . . advice."

Reagan snorted. "Okay. I'm pretty sure I can handle this all on my own. Dan's, quite frankly, an idiot, and idiots are gullible. Simple as that."

"Well, single gullible people are."

Reagan narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Hamilton chuckled. "Nothing, nothing."

She groaned. "Hamilton. Seriously. What is it?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to pretend-date a guy, wh-when . . ."

"Spit it out!"

"He…Dan…" Hamilton began, his words getting cut off with his raucous laughter. He was in hysterics for a good thirty seconds, then took a deep breath. "Dan already has a girlfriend," Hamilton finished. Then he began to laugh again for the longest time.

::

"Dad," she said into the phone once Hamilton had given the phone to him. "There's a minor problem that you forgot to inform me about. Dan kind of already has a girlfriend."

"Mmf. Jsst a sscnd." Eisenhower paused for a moment to swallow the lump of Angus Burger in his mouth. "I already knew that, Reagan."

She gripped her cell phone tighter. "And _why_ didn't you bother to tell me?"

"It's all part of the fun!" He chuckled merrily, like an overly-buff Santa Claus. "You didn't think that I'd give you the easy assignment of just getting him to reveal the secrets without any catch, did you?" Reagan gave no response, because that was exactly what she was thinking. "Well, looks like your old man is thinking ahead now."

"When did you start to do _that_?"

"Yesterday."

"Oh my goodness. You—"

"Listen, Reagan," Eisenhower interrupted, his voice considerably softer. "I never said it was easy. That was the whole point of the mission, right? To _prove yourself_. I was already 100% sure that I was going to nominate Hamilton, so you have to switch my whole perspective. And that takes effort."

Reagan thought for a moment, then said, "It's not fair. You're not giving Hamilton a mission, are you?"

Eisenhower sighed. "Look. The moment we found out that your mother was pregnant with Hamilton, we knew that that baby was going to be the one with the nomination. I know from prior experience that when siblings fight for one thing, it always ends up hurting everyone. That's why your mother and I decided that the eldest would receive the nomination.

"Now, you want to get nominated. I was debating whether or not I should give you a nomination, too. It was a hard decision whether or not to give you a chance. But now you have one, and I advise to you use it."

Reagan nodded, even though she knew that her father couldn't see her. "Of course, Dad. I understand."

"Good." There was a pause, then, "Oh, looks like we're at the airport. Bye, Reagan. Have a great semester. I have some time before boarding, so call me if you need anything."

She grinned. "Of course, Dad. Love you. Bye." She hung up.

Reagan returned to the dorm, where Danielle and Kelsey were already unpacking. "Everything all right?" Kelsey asked.

"Yup." She went over to her other duffel bag and unzipped it, dumping its contents on the floor. She picked up a maroon sweatshirt and was just about to hang it in the closet when the realization hit her. Dan had a girlfriend. Dan, the boy she was supposed to woo in one semester, was already happily in love, and she couldn't do anything about it.

She promptly dropped the sweatshirt and sighed. "I am so screwed."

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><p><strong>Next Chapter:<strong> In which awkward conversations ensue, Dan has a horny roommate who tries to flirt with Reagan, and Madison is absolutely no help at all.

Stay tuned! :D

~Cascading Rainbows


	3. Chapter 2: Setting the Trap

**Title: **Love, Actually: Chapter 2  
><strong>Genre: <strong>Romance, Friendship  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Reagan, Danielle, Kelsey, Dan, Bryce, and Madison. Half are book characters and therefore not mine, and half are my own OCs.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>In which awkward conversations ensue, Dan has a horny roommate who tries to flirt with Reagan, and Madison is absolutely no help at all.

**Song of the Chapter: **Tighten Up – The Black Keys

**My Lovely Reviewers: **stars of paper, studies in pink, Blood . Revenge . Death [if I don't type it out like that FF dot net deletes the whole username -.-], Celestial Calamity, Blood . Revenge . Death again, enchanting sparkles, MagicIsEverywhere, Emily Starlight, Syberian Quest, Traipeze, Amy Gallejos, Snowstorm xD, GhostQueen11, Madeleine DeAngelo, and Guest. Thank you guys so much!

**Author's Note: **So. I haven't updated in a while, obviously, and I apologize for that. However, after a magnificent trip to Las Vegas, where I got to see Cirque du Soleil's "O" and the Jabbawockeez [thank you Mom and Dad!], my writer's block has disappeared! :D Nevertheless, this chapter's a bit of a filler. I know this wasn't worth the wait of over nine months, but it will have to do.

Please review! I will most likely stop writing this story if no one reviews because everyone has forgotten about this story. Reviews show me that people are still interested and want to read more. So please, please review.

* * *

><p><strong>Love, Actually<strong>

_Chapter 2: Setting the Trap_

* * *

><p>"<em>If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time."<em>

_-Chinese Proverb_

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><p>Reagan woke up to a pillow in her face.<p>

"_Ow_!"

"Kelsey!" Danielle scolded, drying off her damp hair with a towel, which she threw carelessly at the floor. She stood at the doorway of their dorm.

"Sorry, she's a heavy sleeper," Kelsey responded, not looking very sorry at all.

Yawning, Reagan picked up the pillow, which had slid off to her side. "It's okay," she mumbled, toying with it. "Because I was gonna do _this—_" She expertly threw the pillow straight at Kelsey's face with perfect aim, "—anyway."

Kelsey kicked the pillow, which had bounced off her to the ground, to the general direction of her bunk. "Well played," she admitted. Reagan grinned winningly.

"But onto the real situation at hand," Danielle continued. "Reagan, you overslept."

"_What_?" Frantically, she glanced at her digital clock, which read 7:39. "Shoot. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Algebra's at 8 AM."

"We know," Kelsey replied breezily, slinging on her backpack. She and Danielle already had their school clothes and backpacks on and were ready to leave.

Reagan stood up and grabbed some clothes from the closet to change into. "Then why didn't you wake me _up _or something?"

"We tried to," Danielle supplied. Kelsey nodded in agreement. "Instead, you insisted upon us eating breakfast and coming back for you later."

She groaned. "Never listen to me when I'm sleepy." With her clothes changed, she fumbled to put her contacts in.

Kelsey took something wrapped in a napkin off her desk. "Here," she called and threw the lump to Reagan, who caught it expertly. "We brought you a muffin back from Rendezvous." Rendezvous was a campus restaurant located in the Rieber Terrace, only a short walk from their building.

Reagan unraveled the napkin, revealing a blueberry muffin. She smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"You still owe me two bucks for that muffin."

Reagan's smile dropped. "Of course." She took a large bite of the muffin, then reached into her wallet on her desk. She extracted two one-dollar bills. "Hur yoo goo," she managed, with food still in her mouth.

Kelsey, looking thoroughly disgusted, accepted the bills anyway.

Reagan wolfed down half the muffin in minutes, and downed a bottle of water. She looked at the clock. It read 7:50. "I'm fine." She let out a sigh of relief.

"Reagan, isn't your first class Algebra?" Kelsey inquired.

Reagan took another bite of her muffin and nodded.

"That's held in the Mathematical Sciences Building," Danielle responded. "That's, like, a mile from here."

Reagan widened her eyes. Frantically, she slung on her backpack, grabbed a piece of paper off her desk, and took off.

"She's late," Kelsey stated. She and Danielle walked out the dorm and locked the door.

Danielle shrugged. "Reagan's pretty athletic, and she has that map to help her, too. Thankfully, I've got track-and-field first, right next to the halls, and you have—"

"—a class in Reagan's building. But mine's at 8:30. And you don't understand. Reagan doesn't _have_ a map."

She wrinkled her brow. "I saw her take it off the desk."

"No," Kelsey replied, shaking her head. "That was my take-out Mexican menu I took from Rendezvous."

::

Reagan had never felt so panicked in her life.

"Here's the track-and-field place," she muttered to herself. "I know for sure that you have to keep going." She could feel her forehead beading with sweat. _Wonderful._

She forged onwards. "Okay, just passed the John Wooden Center, so then I turn . . . right?" To make sure, Reagan took out the map from her back pocket. She scanned the paper. "Enchiladas, quesadillas, and nachos." Reagan did a double take. "What is this?" She flipped to the front of the paper, which read: _Rendezvous Take-Out Menu_. She hung her head. "I am so stupid."

Reagan ran up to another student on his way to class. "Excuse me; can you please point me in the direction of the Mathematical Science Building?"

"Sure." The boy pointed towards her right. "Go down, and keep going till you see Ackerman Union. Then make a left. Keep going till you see that building."

Reagan could almost kiss him. "Thank you so much!" She took off towards her right.

Whilst running, she fumbled with her back pocket and took out her phone. It was 7:57. Reagan resisted the urge to throw herself off a cliff and kept running.

She passed a sign that read _Ackerman Union_ in large block letters. "Wonderful," she mumbled to herself, backing up to make a left. Reagan sprinted until she reached the Mathematical Sciences Building at 7:59.

"Here in the nick of time," she muttered, and she burst into the room. Everyone was seated and quiet, and many students turned to stare at her simultaneously. _Sorry_, she mouthed.

Reagan scanned the room. Amid all of the students, she couldn't find a familiar face. She sighed.

"Reagan!"

Her head snapped towards the direction of the voice. Dan was waving his hand, tapping at an empty seat next to him. Relieved, she came over and sat down. "Hi, Dan," she greeted.

He grinned good-naturedly. "Hey," he whispered. "Nice seeing someone I know here."

She nodded enthusiastically. "Why're you here in this class?"

"Linear Algebra and Applications is my prerequisite," Dan explained, reaching into his backpack to take out a blue notebook and a pen. "Since I'm in an economy class."

"It's my prerequisite for me, too," Reagan replied. She took out her notebook and pencil as well. "For my Life Sciences class."

Dan grinned. "Cool."

Just then, the professor entered the room, which fell silent immediately. "Hello, everyone; I apologize for the delay. I'm Professor Jackson," the professor introduced briefly. He was a young, lean man who couldn't have been older than thirty-five. "No relation to the King of Pop, though I can do a mean moonwalk." There was a smattering of laughter. "Let me tell you a little bit about myself." He then proceeded to briefly summarize himself and his teaching at the college. "Well, then. Let's get right to it. Hopefully everyone remembers matrices because we're going over them." He then wrote the word "matrix" on the board in large letters.

Reagan thought to herself. Did she remember what a matrix was? She racked her brain, and all she came up with was the movie with Keanu Reeves. She sighed.

There was a slight bustle of noise as some students in the class took out their notebooks. "All right, matrices: the plural of matrix. The definition of a matrix is a rectangular array of numbers, symbols, or expressions in rows and columns." He peered around the classroom. "I expect you to be writing this down."

Reagan hurriedly scrawled what he had just explained onto her notebook. To her right, Dan was doing the same.

"Let's take this matrix." He drew a matrix with six numbers inside. "These individual numbers are called _elements_ or _entries_. I should see pencils move, people. Let's talk about addition for a second. When you have another matrix to add to this matrix—" He drew another matrix similar to the first, but with different numbers, "—each element in the first matrix corresponds to the element in the _next_ matrix, which becomes five, in this case. Same thing with subtraction. Subtract the corresponding element from the element in the first matrix."

Reagan fervently scribbled in her notes, trying to catch up with the professor's words, but it was nearly impossible. She took a look at Dan's notebook. To her surprise and disgust, his notes were completely legible and neat, unlike hers.

"All right, class. Turn to page fifteen in your textbooks, and try numbers one through five in the guided practice," Professor Jackson instructed. Frazzled, Reagan flipped open her book and completed the exercises, which were easy enough. Right when she put her pencil down, Professor Jackson wrote down the answers on the board. "That was easy enough, right? Any questions?" Silence. "Wonderful. Turn to page seventeen, and let's begin multiplication and division." Professor Jackson began to draw more matrices.

Reagan fumbled with her pencil as she scribbled down the numbers and wrote down what the professor was saying. He was explaining how scalar multiplication worked, and he wrote down some formulas that Reagan couldn't comprehend. When he gave them problems to do, Reagan squinted at the notes, trying to decipher what she had written minutes ago.

She couldn't.

As she stared at the first problem, Professor Jackson cleared his throat. "Here are the answers, students," he said, and wrote the answers on the board. Reagan stared. After a few moments, he continued, "I'm assuming everyone is done with checking their solutions. Let's move on to division, shall we? This should all be review to you."

The rest of the class was spent freaking out and futilely attempting to write everything down.

At the end of the lecture, Professor Jackson glanced at the clock. "All right class, hope you have that all written down. The homework is page 20, problems 1-50, odd. Dismissed." There was a small clamor as the students stood up and began to leave the building.

As Dan stood up, Reagan tapped his shoulder. "Dan?"

He turned around. "Mmhmm?"

"Can I see your notes sometime after classes end? I got nothing." She indicatively pointed to her notebook, which had indecipherable markings on it.

Dan shrugged. "Sure. Meet me at my dorm at six. I'm Hedrick Hall, room 310."

"Oh, me too!" Reagan exclaimed. Meeting Dan's gaze, she quickly rephrased her statement. "I mean, I'm in Hedrick Hall, too. Not that I'm in your room. That would be weird. And creepy."

There was a long silence. "Uh. So just meet me then."

"Of course." Reagan nodded. "Gottagobye." She walked as fast as she could out of there.

::

_Meet me at my dorm at six,_ he'd said.

It was currently 5:59.

Reagan took a deep breath. She could definitely do this. She'd have to at least _talk _to him to get her plan started.

6:00.

She took a step towards the door, then hesitated. Going in at 6 would look like she cared too much. She'd have to be casually a little late.

So she stood there.

Another student whom she didn't recognize walked down the hall, giving Reagan a strange look when he saw her standing next to the door alone.

Reagan reclined on the wall and pretended to text someone.

6:01. Perfect.

Gingerly, Reagan knocked the door lightly. "Come in!" an unfamiliar voice shouted. She opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hello," Reagan greeted uncertainly, shuffling into the dorm. Quickly, she surveyed the premises. For a boys dorm, it was unusually neat and clean. Then again, they were only a day into the semester.

Dan was sprawled on his loft bed, typing on his computer. His back was to her, and he remained oblivious to her presence in the dorm.

However, his roommate, who she assumed was the one who had told her to come in, was not so oblivious. "Hey!" The blonde stood up and approached Reagan way too close for comfort. "Who are you?"

Reagan pressed her lips into a tight line. "Reagan Holt." The boy began to play with a strand of her hair, and she slapped his hand away. "Please don't do that. Or I will hurt you."

Dan turned his head around. "Bryce, what are you—" A flicker of recognition registered in his eyes. "Reagan!"

Reagan managed a strained grin. "Hi, Dan."

"I'm so sorry about Bryce," Dan muttered, climbing down the ladder. "He can sometimes be a little—"

"Seductive? Sensual?" the boy named Bryce supplied, grinning. Reagan rolled her eyes.

"I was gonna go for shady and suggestive, but whatever works for you," Dan shot back, grinning. Reagan laughed.

Bryce narrowed his eyes. "Ha-ha, very funny." He walked back towards his bunk and picked up a white bag. "I'm gonna go shower now, okay?"

"Have fun," Dan deadpanned.

Bryce ran his fingers through his hair. "But, y'know, if Reagan wants to come along—"

"Good_bye_, Bryce," Dan responded emphatically.

"But wait—"

Dan pushed Bryce out of the room and shut the door.

"That boy is a piece of work," Reagan muttered, sitting down cross-legged on the floor.

"Yeah. He's a bit . . . forward with girls." Dan chuckled, moving towards his desk. "But you don't know him yet. He's actually really cool; we're pretty close roomies."

Dan opened his backpack on his chair, shuffled through the papers, and took out his notebook. "Here." He threw the notebook towards Reagan, who caught it easily. She opened it up, revealing clear and concise handwriting, along with some drawings of matrices. "Take it," Dan offered. "I learned this stuff in AP Calc during senior year."

_Dan had been in AP classes? _Reagan found that unlikely. "Thanks," she replied anyway, skimming the notes. She understood all of it, seeing it right before her eyes.

"You can give it back to me in class tomorrow; I have spare notebook paper to do my homework," Dan assured.

"Oh. Thanks," Reagan repeated. She placed the notebook next to her.

Dan came back to where she was sitting and plopped down next to her. "Anyway, about Bryce. Don't let him get to you. Like I said, he's a pretty nice guy."

Reagan blinked. _That_ was a little hard to believe. "Of course, when he's not slobbering all over the female population, right?"

"Right."

"What percent of the time is he not doing that?"

". . . A small percentage."

Reagan shook her head. Now for the real reason she was here. "Anyway, I heard you have a girlfriend."

Dan grinned. "Yeah, I do. Her name's Sage. Sage Chen. She's majoring in Biology like you, so you'll probably see her around class sometime."

"Great." Reagan smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Cool," Dan responded, smiling. "We met in high school. We started dating around the beginning of senior year, and we both got accepted to UCLA. It was perfect."

"How cute." Reagan feigned a giggle.

Dan chuckled. "It'll be hard to hang out here—so much work in college. But we're going to the Covel Commons Residential Restaurant this Saturday. It's a really nice little restaurant place—"

"Can I come?"

"What?"

Reagan's eyes widened. Well, _that _was an impulsive move. "I mean . . . can I come to the restaurant, too?"

Dan stared. "It's a _date._ It's kind of meant to be . . . private." Once he noticed her expression, he hastily added, "No offense."

"Oh, I know," she replied breezily.

"Excuse me?"

Her mind raced for an excuse. "I meant . . . can I come . . . with Bryce? Can I come with Bryce? As a double date! Doesn't that sound fun?" Reagan playfully punched him on the shoulder with probably more force than she'd intended.

Dan wrinkled his brow. "But you think he's gross. And you said before, quote, 'that boy is a piece of work,' unquote."

Reagan shook her head emphatically. "I don't! I just . . . misunderstood him. He's very . . . nice," she managed.

After a very long look, Dan shrugged noncommittally. "If you want to, go right ahead. I'm sure Bryce would be more than happy to go on a date with you."

"I'm . . . sure he does." Reagan stood up, dusting off her pants, and Dan followed suit. "Well, I gotta go now, so—"

Just then, Bryce entered the room, his blonde hair damp and a towel around his neck. "Hey, Dan."

"Bryce." Dan walked up to him. "Reagan said she wants to double-date with me and Sage." He sighed resignedly and gave a sidelong glance to Reagan for confirmation. She nodded. "She wants it to be me and Sage, and you and her."

Bryce's face lit up. "Really?" Reagan nodded and tried to smile convincingly. Bryce smirked, slinging an arm around her. "I knew you couldn't resist my charms."

"Of course," Reagan agreed, trying not to roll her eyes.

"Great," Dan replied, leaning over to pick up his phone from his loft bed. "I'll text Sage right away." He directed his gaze to Reagan. "Just swing by at our dorm Saturday at 5 PM, all right?"

Reagan gently wrestled free from Bryce's grasp. "Got it. See you guys then." She waved goodbye with a smile, gracefully waltzing out of the room.

Once she had closed the door and had walked out of earshot, she broke out into a run.

::

"My God, Reagan, could you get any stupider?"

"Gee, Madison, I always feel better when I talk to you."

Currently, Reagan was sitting on Madison's bottom bunk with her aforementioned twin sister. She had explained her predicament to Madison, hoping she'd be a little more understanding than she was being right now.

Madison rolled her eyes. "Look, if that boy is so into you, you shouldn't just lead him on. That's cruel. And so unlike you." Madison widened her eyes. "I'm rubbing off on you. This is great."

Reagan slugged her arm. "I'll do anything for that nomination and the respect of Dad._ And _this'll be something awesome to shut Hammer up with."

Madison slugged her back. "Whatever. And why are you even here?"

"For advice."

"And what makes you think I'll willingly help _you_?"

Reagan had already come equipped with answers. "Well, do you really want Hamilton as the leader of the Tomas branch? With complete leadership? Do you _really_ think _he's _the most qualified for that position?"

"Let's see." Madison mused over her options. "Annoying brother, or equally annoying twin sister." She paused and shrugged. "Eh. I guess I'll help you."

Reagan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now give me advice."

"All right. I'll advise you." Madison paused for a moment. "Kiss Dan."

"Wha—_no. _He has a girlfriend right now."

Madison guffawed. "Wait, he's _taken_? That's hilarious."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Reagan retorted, rolling her eyes. "Now help me."

She thought for a bit. "I still think kissing is a viable option."

"_No, _it is _not_!"

"Well." Madison cleared her throat. "Then I am clear out of ideas."

"You said you'd _help _me!"

"I did. You didn't want my ideas. Now goodbye."

"Madison—"

"Goodbye." Madison forcefully shoved her twin sister out the room. "I need to do my homework."

Reagan stared daggers into Madison. "Well, fine. I didn't need your help!"

"Great." She slammed the door in Reagan's face.

Reagan rolled her eyes. She didn't need Madison. She could do this by herself. Feeling reinvigorated, Reagan ran all the way back to Hedrick Hall.

Right when she was about to enter the door, she bumped into Bryce forcefully. "Sorry," she mumbled, looking up. "Oh. Hi, Bryce."

"Reagsters! I-"

"Don't call me that."

"Right. So anyway, can't wait for that _date_!" Bryce slung his arm around Reagan, who tried not to flick it off her shoulders. "It's gonna be awesome, baby."

"Don't call me that either." Reagan tried not to cringe and stepped away from him. "And of course. It'll be amazing."

Bryce grinned. "This is gonna be _tight_. See you later, babe." And then he jogged away towards the tennis courts. Reagan watched as he slowly disappeared from her view, and heard him say, "Guess what guys? Got a girlfriend," in the distance.

"Shoot." Reagan looked down. "I did need her help."

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> Just to let you know, Linear Algebra and Applications in UCLA _is_ a prerequisite for physical scientists and economists. I tried to be as accurate as I could with college life, even if I'm in middle school, haha. Sorry if I get anything , muffins are actually two dollars at UCLA as well.

Also, the walk from Hedrick Hall to the Mathematical Sciences Building in UCLA is roughly under a mile, and I used an online map for this. UCLA has a quite useful tool where you can draw a line from two points and it will tell you the distance. Of course, I fudged the line with all the walkways and all, and it came to about 5000 feet. So if I can run a mile in 7 minutes, Reagan can certainly run less than a mile with a backpack less than that time. And she had the problem of going down those flights of stairs at the beginning. Ah, research.

And I meant to use "stupider" instead of "more stupid." **Syberian Quest**, who betaed for me, told me it sounds more Madison-like. Thanks Sy for betaing!

**Next Chapter: **In which a double date goes awry, Reagan is sneaky, and Eisenhower misses his kids much more than he lets on.


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